Rhetorical question

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A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than to receive an answer, through statement. For example, "Does Jack Palmer ever learn?"[1] Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?" or "Do you really think I want to have a Star Trek themed wedding?", or "How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?"; no formal answer is expected. Rather, it is a device used by the speaker to assert or deny something.

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[edit] Punctuation

In the 1580s, English printer Henry Denham invented a "rhetorical question mark" for use at the end of a rhetorical question; however, it died out of use in the 1600s. It was the reverse of an ordinary question mark, so that instead of the main opening pointing back into the sentence, it opened away from it.[2]

Some have adapted the question mark into various irony marks, but these are very rarely seen.

[edit] Rhetorical Affirmation

A rhetorical question that intends the communication of "yes, of course".
Examples:

  • Is the Pope Catholic?
  • Is the sky blue?
  • Is the ocean salty?
  • Is the sun hot?
  • Is this guy kiddin'?
  • Is a tomato a fruit?
  • Is the atomic weight of Cobalt 58.9? (from Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters II)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [O. Burton, Brigham Young University]. "Rhetorical Questions". specialized language definitions. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  2. ^ Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003. p. 142. ISBN 1-592-40087-6.

[edit] External links